Young Plasmius and the Annoying Phantom
by GreyLiliy
Summary: [Age Swap AU] Fourteen Year Old Vlad Masters has ghost powers. If ghost attacks, keeping secrets, and learning to control his new found powers weren't enough, the appearance of a powerful new Ghost in town sure is. Phantom has his eyes on Vlad, and the young Halfa isn't sure he's got what it takes to defend himself if this powerful specter decides he's an enemy.
1. Chapter 1

_[This chapter is for PhannieMay15! The first part will be for Days 8, but it'll be longer. Anyway, the theme was "Alternate Universe" and so I decided out of all the fun prompts to do Age Swap! Which means 14 year old Vlad, Maddie and Jack and 40-something Danny, Sam and Tucker. :D Enjoy!]_

 **Notes:** Because I ship Danny with literally everyone, I had a hard time picking who he might be with in the future (as lovesick as that boy was in the show, I can't imagine he didn't at least want to get married at some point), so I just left him single. We'll say he dated a lot and none of them stuck. However, I can't say the same for Sam and Tucker so I married them instead. ;D Everything else will be based on canon relationships.

* * *

 _Chapter 1_

"Hold still whelp so I can shoot you! I've sworn to have your head upon my wall!" Skulker shouted, aiming yet another missile toward Vlad's head. Didn't he ever run out? He was wearing a mechanical suit! Surely the ammo was under the same physical limitations and had limits on ammunition storage? Skulker roared and fired another, disproving Vlad's theory with what seemed like sheer spite. "You can't run forever!"

Vlad rolled his eyes and went invisible. He flew behind a building and waited for Skulker to pass by. If he weren't so obsessed with hunting Vlad, Skulker could possibly be useful. Good with electronics, amazing tracker, and seemed to know a great deal of ghosts. Wonderful information source! Shame he was focused on cutting Vlad's mint green head off and mounting it on his wall.

That tended to put a dent in future allies.

"It's no use hiding!" Skulker shouted, aiming a missile at Vlad's position. The young ghost cursed and scrambled away before the ectoplasm exploded over the entire wall. "I've keyed into your Ecto-Signature! There's no where you can run!"

Vlad became visible and focused on his hands as he held both out toward Skulker. A soft pink wisp danced around his fingers, but nothing solid enough to do damage. Vlad growled and concentrated harder on the energy growing in his hands and Skulker aiming weapons at Vlad, vulnerable in the air. He'd done it in practice, so why couldn't he seem to bring up a Ghost Ray when he needed it!?

"Got you!" Skulker shouted, switching hands and sending a net toward Vlad's head.

The boy cursed already calculating it was moving too fast for him to get out of the way! The net approached and—vanished in a flash of green light? Vlad stared at the disintegrated net pieces as they fell to the ground. Skulker did much of the same, his metal face gaping at the interruption to their fight. Vlad looked around, floating and waiting for the intruder.

"Picking on kids, Skulker?" A voice laughed from around them. A swirl of green smoke flew through the air and teleported between them an older, human-shaped ghost with glowing green eyes that laughed in amusement. The man looked like he had been around forty when he died, if the slight wrinkles at the side of his eyes were an indicator, though his fashion gave none of that way. He wore a black hazmat suit with white gloves and boots that matched his snow white hair. The ghost held a hand up and wagged his index finger back and forth, scolding Skulker. "I thought you were the big hunter? This seems a bit small for you."

"Phantom!" Skulker shouted, his glow growing stronger with his rage. "How dare you interrupt my hunt of the Halfa!"

"Halfa?" Phantom, Vlad took a guess that was his name, said. He hit the side of his head and looked Vlad over. He winked and Vlad scoffed. "Is that him? Now I'm extra glad I showed up to see what the fuss was about. If I'd known the Halfa was a kid, I would have been here sooner."

"Well now you've seen him," Skulker hissed. The hunter's rage grew by the moment, his flaming hair growing and flashing everywhere. Vlad glanced between the two, cursing his inexperience. Skulker knew who Phantom was, so he must be somewhat well known. Vlad needed to do more research. Skulker pointed at the ghost and yelled, "Your curiosity should be sated! Now get out of here and allow me to finish my hunt, you pest!"

"Skulker," Phantom said, raising an eyebrow up. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned in closer to the mechanical ghost. The cocky attitude almost glowed as brightly as Phantom's ghostly aura. "You really, really want to do that?"

"I will not be stopped from capturing my quarry!" Skulker yelled, yanking out an impressive bazooka over his shoulder. Vlad winced, remember the blast radius of that particular weapon and how difficult it was to avoid it. Phantom didn't move. Skulker hissed, "The Halfa is my prey!"

"So we're doing this," Phantom said. He turned around to Vlad and grinned, giving Vlad a big thumbs up. "Hey kid, time me!"

"Time you?" Vlad asked, eyes widening. "What are you doing!?"

"You'll see," Phantom said

Vlad had the time to blink before Phantom was throwing a fist in Skulker's face. A second to his gut was followed by a massive Ghost Ray to the chest. The blast threw Skulker into the side of the nearest building, where Phantom was—waiting for him!? How did he? Vlad gaped. There was more than one of him. Vlad looked around as another hit Skulker in the side with another smaller Ghost Ray. Three. No, there were four Phantom fighting the mechanical ghost.

"Form duplication," Vlad whispered to himself as his eyes grew wider and wider watching the fight. Phantom had mastered form duplication. Just how strong was he!? "I don't believe it."

"Believe it," A copy said, laughing near Vlad's ear. He laughed harder when Vlad jumped away from the sudden appearance. Phantom's copy grinned and asked, "Since you're not keeping time, you want to see something funny?"

"Uh," Vlad said, floating away from the powerful ghost. Mastering four forms, as well as keep up conversation outside of the battle? This ghost might be a little above his skill range. A lot above his skill range. Vlad swallowed and nodded in agreement.

"Then pay attention or you'll miss it," Phantom said, pointing back to the fight.

Vlad turned his head in time to watch Phantom blast Skulker's head off. Vlad sucked in a breath, and stared when Phantom yanked out a small green blob of a ghost the size of his hand. Apart from the suit, it lost its ghostly glow and all the metal parts dropped to the ground. The Phantom clones vanished and he floated back over to Vlad.

Phantom held up the smaller ghost and said, "Skulker's not so scary without his suit, is he?"

"I'll get you!" The tiny Skulker shrieked, his voice high pitched and whiny. "I will not forget this embarrassment!"

The ghost blob threw a handful of goopy ectoplasm at Phantom's face, causing the older ghost man to drop Skulker. Phantom winced, wiping the sludge off his face with a grimace while Skulker made a break for it, flying off into the distance as fast as he could.

"Hate it when he does that," Phantom said, a wry smile tugging on amused lips.

Vlad was alone with the high class ghost.

His insides shook, and he grit his teeth. Phantom had shown up and saved him from Skulker (to Vlad's eternal regret that he needed the help), but it wouldn't be the first time a ghost had shown up to fight over the unique "Halfa" and wanting a piece of Vlad. Who was to say that Phantom didn't want much of the same?

"You okay, kid?" Phantom asked. He floated away a few feet, giving Vlad his space. He licked the side of his lip and held out his hand. "My name's Phantom. It's nice to meet you after hearing so much gossip in the Ghost Zone."

"I can't tell if your name is boastful or uncreative," Vlad said, slapping a hand over his mouth. Always. Always with the snide comments? Couldn't he even control himself around certain trouble? This is why ghost attacked him all the time. Had to be. "I mean—"

"No, no. It's okay." Phantom held his hand up, his chest rumbling with laughter. He wiped a tear from the side of his face and patted Vlad on the arm. "Let's say that second one turned into the first one, and leave it there."

"Oh," Vlad said. He clutched at the edge of his cape, using it as a temporary shield as he pulled it up near his chest. Phantom kept staring at him, amused and clearly aware that his power dwarfed Vlad's own. The Halfa fidgeted and struggled to find the right thing to say. Making enemies of such a strong ghost wasn't in his best interests, was it? Vlad huffed, "Alright then."

"And what's your name?" Phantom asked, sitting in the air. He crossed one leg over the other and leaned back with his hands behind his head. Utterly relaxed. It almost pissed Vlad off. Phantom smirked, "I doubt it's 'Halfa' like everyone's been saying."

Vlad wrapped his fingers around his cape tighter. Phantom was smiling too brightly. Too friendly. He was a ghost! They were all bad weren't they? That had been Vlad's experience so far. He shouldn't tell this guy anything. But then again. Vlad winced at every time someone had shouted "Whelp", "Ghost Child" or "Halfa" at him. It wouldn't hurt to at least have his _name_ be something other ghosts yelled at him.

"Plasmius," Vlad said, holding his chin up. He just dared Phantom to make fun of it.

"How old are you again?" Phantom asked, pulling his arms down and crossing them over his chest. He rolled over and laid on his stomach in the air. "I want to say fifteen, but I'm not all that great at guessing ages."

"What's it matter?" Vlad asked, hissing, though oddly happy he'd guessed higher than lower.

"Nothing, just a little jealous you were able to come up with such a cool name at your age," Phantom said. "Plasmius like Plasma, right? As in blood?"

Phantom had finished his question by tapping against his canine tooth. Vlad touched his own rather elongated fang with his tongue. Vlad looked like a vampire in his Ghost Mode. Nothing to be ashamed about. "What of it?"

"Nothing," Phantom said. He floated a tad closer to Vlad, trying to look casual, but Vlad noticed. He floated away from him in response to each inch. Phantom frowned. "You have a lot of problems with ghosts like Skulker?"

"I can handle it," Vlad said, frowning. "I've found him before! I didn't need your help!"

"There are bigger ghosts out there than Skulker, you know," Phantom said.

 _I'm looking at one,_ Vlad thought to himself in response. He narrowed his eyes, still unsure of Phantom's motives. What was this? A power game? Vlad huffed, "Of course I do! That's why I'm out here getting stronger myself."

"Long as you know," Phantom said. He flew closer, and flicked Vlad in the center of the forehead. "But if you decide you want some help with that, I'm more than happy to give you a hand. It can be hard learning all those powers by yourself."

Vlad dropped his cape and batted away at Phantom's hands. "I'll manage!"

"If you say so," Phantom said. He stared hard at Vlad, and saluted before flying up and back, his feet turning into a ghostly tail. "But all the same, I think I'll keep some tabs on you."

"What?" Vlad shouted. "No! I don't need a baby sitter!"

"See ya' later, little Plasmius!"

"Are you always this annoying!?" Vlad shouted back, fear of Phantom's power momentarily swept away by the anger coloring Vlad's cheeks. "Don't come back!"

Phantom disappeared in a puff of green smoke, and Vlad hung in the air over his city. He didn't need this.

It was hard enough being fourteen with ghost powers. Now he had to deal with an annoying Phantom on top of it all?

"Perfect," Vlad said, grumbling and turning to fly home. "Just, perfect!"


	2. Chapter 2

_Having fun with this? Why yes I am! ;D I'm still playing around with the plot, but I do know I want to keep things like their Ghostly Obsessions close to canon—so expect things like Vlad becoming obsessed with Danny in the future, and of course Mr. Phantom playing hero. ;D_

* * *

Vlad slammed his locker shut, biting the edge of his lip. Even wearing his luck Packers' shirt hadn't improved his mood much after the disaster from last night.

Phantom.

The mystery ghost was powerful and strong, more so than Vlad gave him credit for. After Phantom left, Vlad had intended to corner another roaming ghost for information but he couldn't find one! Phantom's sheer presence in the area had sent every ghost in the city into hiding. Either word that he was there traveled quickly, or they could all feel his power.

Vlad hauled his book back over his shoulder, and shoved his hands in his pockets. If he wanted to gather more information, he'd need to corner a ghost and ask.

Hopefully they didn't stay away too long after Phantom's appearance in town.

"Hey V-man!" A boisterous voice called from down the hallway. Vlad rolled his eyes, but smiled all the same. His best friend, otherwise known as the one and only Jack Fenton. The teenager that already towered over the tallest teacher in their school ran to meet Vlad. "Wait up!"

"I wasn't moving," Vlad said as Jack caught up and slapped Vlad on the back with a laugh. He wheezed from the impact, and sucked in a breath. "What's up?"

"Maddie did it!" Jack said, pumping his fist in the air. "She got us an in with the local Guys in White branch! We're going to get our internship back!"

"Oh?" Vlad asked, squeezing his shoulder strap. He swallowed hard and used every inch of his control to keep his limbs from going intangible from shock. "I thought after you blew up that portal when you turned it on that we'd never be allowed in there again."

"Well, she did some talking and convinced them it was an accident," Jack said. He rubbed the back of his neck, and hunched his shoulders together. "And they didn't hate us too much. I mean, they helped clear up that ecto-acne you got from it. Which I apologized about."

"I know you did, Jack," Vlad sighed.

Vlad wrapped his arms around his chest and squeezed. If this were before the accident Vlad would have jumped for joy at a second chance to join the Guys in White so early. It was exactly what he needed to procure a future in Ghost Hunting. However, this was after the accident. After that damn portal turned on in his face. After Vlad became half ghost. If Vlad were to go back to that facility now, he'd probably set off every piece of ghost equipment in the building.

And Vlad knew what the Guys in White did to ghosts.

"I-I'm very happy for you, Jack. You and Maddie both, I am," Vlad started. Jack's excited face fell, and Vlad became very aware that they were alone in the school hallway. Vlad chose his words carefully, "But I think, that I've had enough of that internship."

"What are you talking about, V-Man? This is the dream! This is it!" Jack said. "You're the only one I know who loves ghosts maybe more than I do. Why would you pass this up?"

"I almost died, Jack!" Vlad shouted. He had, technically. Half of him. But those were semantics and right now Vlad needed an impact statement. He enhanced the performance with a step back and a shake of the head; arms tighter around himself. "I can't go back there. Not again. I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry my friend but I can't."

"Vladdie," Jack said, voice full of something that sounded an awful lot like pity.

He reached out a meaty hand and Vlad stepped out of reach. He needed an out to think. He needed a more concrete excuse before Maddie got involved. She'd be more persistent that Jack. "I'm sorry."

Vlad turned and ran. Jack was fast for his size, but Vlad was small and light. He easily outpaced his friend and escaping him turned simple the second he was out the door. Vlad went invisible, flew up and took refuge on the school roof.

He watched Jack crash out the front door of the school, calling out Vlad's name, before cursing and heading down the street.

Vlad sighed and transformed fully into Plasmius before flying off the roof and heading home. His powers running amok on him, evil ghosts chasing him down and attacking him, super powered Phantoms with double meaning, losing his chance at his chosen future. These ghost powers continued to become a burden Vlad wasn't sure that he wanted.

He touched down in his backyard, and transformed back. He walked over to the picnic table set up on his back porch and sat down. He drew little ectoplasm squares in the air with his fingertip and huffed.

"It's not fair," Vlad said, continuing his square. "I've wanted to hunt ghosts all my life, and now I'm half of one.

"I can't even go back to that internship because of it!" Vlad shouted, slamming his hand on the table. He growled, and covered his face. He needed to calm down. All this aggression would cause a power flare up. He didn't need to set the back yard on fire again. "This bites."

Vlad went back to drawing the square. The bright pink glow of ectoplasm hung in the air as he drew each square over and over in the same place. He thought of how happy Jack had looked coming up to tell him the good news. Vlad's ectoplasm grew brighter as he drew. How he'd lost his chance once again to work side by side with Maddie in a real lab. He grit his teeth and his power surged.

"Butter biscuits! Vlad shouted, drawing the square quickly in the air with an angry stroke.

And this time it stayed there.

Vlad dropped his mouth at the glass like square that was floating in front of him. He reached his finger up and tapped it. Solid. He'd made a solid ectoplasmic shield.

He waved his hand threw it, and the ectoplasm wiped away in a swirling fog. Vlad drew the square again. Nothing.

"Come on! You can't show me a new trick and not let me repeat it!" He yelled, drawing the square again. He concentrated and after two more tries: Another shield. Vlad waved it away and remembered how it felt. He drew another, and got it on the first try. "Yes!"

Vlad turned away from the table and turned into Plasmius. Reaching into the boost of power he got from his full ghost form, he drew a bigger square. Made a bigger shield. The gleaming, translucent glass shield was amazing. Vlad wondered what it was capable of blocking. Ectoplasm shots? Nothing? Who knew, but Vlad had a new trick!

He wondered if Phantom could make shields.

"V-man! You home?" Jack called from the front yard.

Vlad dropped to the ground and transformed in an instant. He'd spent so much time pouting he forgot to come up with a better story! At least it was just Jack. He was easier to lie to.

"Come on Vlad! We just want to talk!" That yell was Maddie.

"In the back yard," he shouted, taking a seat back at the picnic table. He waited for the two of them, and as Maddie and Jack both climbed over his backyard fence, Vlad gave a tiny wave. "Hey, guys."

"Are you alright?" Jack asked, taking a seat on the other side of the table. The entire thing tilted up toward him, raising Vlad and his feet into the air. "You ran off pretty quick there."

"Ah, well," Vlad said. "You caught me off guard."

"That's okay," Maddie said. She took a seat next to Jack and looked up at Vlad with those perfect, determined eyes. "Jack told me everything and we talked about it."

"You talked about it?" Vlad asked, looking between the two. They looked like a unified front, and he couldn't help the stab of jealousy. "Talked about what?"

"We're going to turn down the internship," Maddie said, her voice every inch as determined as her gaze.

"What?" Vlad said, pushing up on the table with his hands. "You can't do that! It's your dream!"

"And yours," Jack said, licking his lips. "But dreams change."

"Jack's right," Maddie said. She reached over and put a hand on Vlad's. She squeezed and Jack did the same, putting his hand right on top of hers. Maddie said, "Vlad Masters, we are a team. And team's stick together! If you can't go back to that facility, than neither are we!"

"But," Vlad's voice choked, "What about the ghosts?"

"Who needs those stupid Guys in White to hunt ghosts?" Jack said, throwing a fist in the air. He gave a thumbs up and reached across the table to pull both Maddie and Vlad into a hug. "We'll just do it ourselves! How hard could it be?"

"Jacks' right," Maddie said, much more comfortable in Jacks' arms as she was not dragged halfway across the table like Vlad was at the moment. Maddie flipped her hair back. "The Guys in White had to start somewhere, too. They could use the competition."

"Guys," Vlad started. He pulled out of Jack's grip and sat on the bench again. Maddie and Jack both kept smiling at him, bright and welcome. He rubbed at his chest, where it had started to clench. "I don't know what to say."

"Teen Ghost Hunters?" Jack asked, sticking his hand in the middle of the table.

"Teen Ghost Hunters!" Maddie said, slapping her hand on top of his palm. She looked at Vlad and asked, "Team?"

"Team Ghost Hunters," Vlad said, putting his hand over theirs and closing his fingers in so that he held tight to their hands.

Jack threw their hands up into the air and yelled in a cheer. He did a little dance as he pumped his fists in the air and started to talk about uniforms and finding a lab space. Maddie clapped her hands and jumped up and down, and Vlad. Vlad crossed his hands on the table and felt a smile tugging on his face.

Maybe things would work out after all.


End file.
